- Source
- Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.101.1-4.101.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The author conceptualizes Scythia as a square with two sides bordering the sea, and calculates its dimensions (both width and depth into the interior) using travel days to show it is four thousand stades on each side.
ἔστι ὦν τῆς Σκυθικῆς ὡς ἐούσης τετραγώνου,1 τῶν δύο μερέων κατηκόντων ἐς θάλασσαν, πάντῃ ἴσον τό τε ἐς τὴν μεσόγαιαν φέρον καὶ τὸ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν.
Therefore, considering Scythia as being a square, with two of its sides reaching down to the sea, the side stretching into the interior and the side along the sea are equal in every way.
ἀπὸ γὰρ Ἴστρου ἐπὶ Βορυσθένεα δέκα ἡμερέων ὁδός ἀπὸ Βορυσθένεος τε ἐπὶ τὴν λίμνην τὴν Μαιῆτιν ἑτερέων δέκα· καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἐς μεσόγαιαν ἐς τοὺς Μελαγχλαίνους τοὺς κατύπερθε Σκυψέων2 οἰκημένους εἴκοσι ἡμερέων ὁδὸς.
For from the Ister to the Borysthenes is a journey of ten days, and from the Borysthenes to Lake Maeotis is another ten days; and that from the sea into the interior as far as the Melanchlaeni, who dwell above the Scythians, is a journey of twenty days.
ἡ δὲ ὁδὸς ἡ ἡμερησίη ἀνὰ διηκόσια στάδια συμβέβληταί μοι. οὕτω ἂν εἴη3 τῆς Σκυθικῆς τὰ ἐπικάρσια τετρακισχιλίων σταδίων καὶ τὰ ὄρθια τὰ ἐς τὴν μεσόγαιαν φέροντα ἑτέρων τοσούτων σταδίων. ἡ μέν νυν γῆ αὕτη ἐστὶ μέγαθος τοσαύτη.
Now, a day’s journey has been calculated by me at two hundred stades. Thus, the transverse sides of Scythia would be four thousand stades, and the vertical sides stretching into the interior would be another equal number of stades. This, then, is the size of this land.
- 4.101.1ἔστι ὦν τῆς Σκυθικῆς ὡς ἐούσης τετραγώνου
The phrase ὡς ἐούσης τετραγώνου is a genitive absolute construction, where the particle ὡς marks a presumption or subjective assertion ('assuming it to be square'). The genitive τῆς Σκυθικῆς serves as the subject of the participle.
- 4.101.2Σκυψέων
The reading Σκυψέων in the text is highly likely a manuscript corruption or variant for Σκυθέων (Scythians). Given that the previous chapter (4.100.2) locations the Melanchlaeni north of the Scythians, this word must be interpreted as 'Scythians.'
- 4.101.3οὕτω ἂν εἴη
The optative εἴη with ἄν represents a potential construction, indicating a logical inference or calculation ('would be' / 'should be').